Does Everything New Suck?

Five modern shows that you'd have been proud to watch as an eight year old.

Like a lot of people here, I was an 80s child. I grew up on a steady diet of He-Man, the Centurions, Visionaries, Transformers, Go-Bots, Jem, M.A.S.K and... well, heck, basically every cartoon that went by.

Also like a lot of people here, I have fond memories of that time, a warm and glowing sense of nostalgia for styles, fads and trends long past. I could, and probably will, talk about that decade for hours.

But unlike a lot of people, here and in dozens of other places around the net, I didn't stop loving what was on television just because I grew past 15 years old. The more complaints that I see about how terrible animation has become, the more I want to scream from the rooftops just how good a lot of recent shows are.

So I will. Why am I putting this here on Retrojunk when it is so unashamedly recent? Because I want to show that the -spirit- of what we loved lives on, and that sometimes, as much of a nostalgic style can be found in what airs today as in a show we have to track down on DVD or BitTorrent.

5. Danny Phantom

Due to an unfortunate accident with his parents supernatural portal, Daniel Fenton becomes Danny Phantom, a teenager with supernatural superpowers who must track down the spirits he accidentally released and hide his ghost-related nature from his ghost-hunting parents, and the rest of the world.

Looking at my checklist... we've got a supernatural, powers and nature that he has to keep hidden... heck, a lot of the show reminds me of the animated version of Teen Wolf, and in a good way- it has the same supernatural premise, the mix of humor and action... and the jocks still dress as jocks have since time immemorial, if you want a nostalgic fashion buzz.

4. Kim Possible

The first of two teen superspy shows that I'm going to be listing, Kim Possible would have fitted well into any 80s lineup. Characterful recurring villains (like the awesome Doctor Drakhen, whose voice actor John DiMaggio can do a fantastic job of hyperbolic villainy), and support from an all knowing hacker back at base.

Also, like Danny Phantom, the show has a sense of referring back to styles and elements from the 1950s. Things like pipe-smoking scientists and buildings or vehicles with clean, sweeping lines- the kind of things that saw a revival in the cartoons of the 80s, because those things are timeless. ;p

Oh, and the jocks -still- wear the same clothing as ever they do.

3. Megas XLR

Evil aliens from the future are invading the planet, and only one man can save the world. One everyman, his rock-and-cheerleaders loving sidekick and their awesome trainer from the future, anyhow.

Simple fact- Jody Schaeffer and George Kirstic clearly love their old cartoons. Megas XLR is a show made for people that can remember things like G-Force, Wargames, rhinestone studded leather jackets, G1 Transformers, the Atari 2600 and a time when MTV actually played music.

Plus it's set in Jersey, so they're kind of at liberty to pretend the last 20 years never happened anyway. ;p

2. Totally Spies

Another show created by someone who shares a love of the 80s. The Beverley Hills setting, the valley girl stars, the set design that wouldn't have been out of place in Galaxy High... Totally Spies has been known to give me more of a feeling of nostalgia than some shows that were made in the 80s do.

And while the girls themselves may not be enamored of 1980s fashion, that's more than made up for by the fact that one notable episode featured a villain armed with the aptly named '80siser' gun. That's a degree of awesome that you just don't expect to see every day.

1. Justice League Unlimited

Perhaps the only show in the list that can directly trace it's ancestry back to cartoons of an earlier decade, Justice League Unlimited has a history that goes back not just to Batman: The Animated Series but all the way back to Challenge of the Superfriends.

Never intended as a full-on Superfriends revival, the show nonetheless resounds with references and homages to it's precursor show. On top of that, it counts as one of the best written cartoons on childrens TV in any era.

No. Not everything new sucks.

I've spent a lot of time in this article highlighting what I think is 'retro-noticeable' about modern cartoons, if only because this is a retro site. But really, that's not what's important. What matters most of all is that these cartoons are good. Every one of them deserves watching on their own merits just as much as because they have retro style.

I read a lot about the disdain many people of my generation have for the cartoons of this generation, and honestly, that makes me sad. Because when you get right down to it, I don't think that we stop liking cartoons because they got worse.

I think we stop liking them if we get old.

So do me a favor. Kick up your feet, commandeer the TV remote and give some of those shows a try. They're pretty much all showing. Watch, and remember what it was like when you were eight.

You might realize that the magic hasn't gone after all.

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Any adult who tells you that they wouldn't like modern children shows if they were younger is full of it. It makes me want to scream when grown men and women whine about how bad they hate their child's/younger siblings' favorite shows.

I agree, not all modern cartoons suck. It's just that we grew up, like what you said. Besides, my younger cousins enjoy the cartoons on now and I can bet you that those are the cartoons they will be nostaglic for when they come on here in the future.

Ojin, I agree with you. Not everything new sucks, it's just that they are being closed minded and won't give anything produced after the 90s (in the case of people like ducktalesfan1977 and childofthe1970s, the 80s) a chance.

I have never seen Totally Spies or Danny Phantom but the rest of the cartoons you've mentioned are excellent. You all only think modern cartoons suck because you outgrew animation.

well, you sure make me think that all the negative comments I make about my kids cartoons is - a case of another parent just not knowing what good cartoons are and not understanding.I do remember my parents thinking I was wasting my saturday watching my much loved shows. I would like to say I will remember that when they are "wasting their time" this weekend but I cant help but think that the great cartoons are gone.But ya know what? I think that is one of the great things about childhood -that you have something all to yourself,something only you and your generation shares. We 80's kids have ours to share together and our children are having theirs right now. Someday they will be on a website typing about the awsome Danny Phantom that used to be on and others will smile and agree.(but I still kim possible cant light a candle to she-ra)

I also think the 2000s suck too but not everything on there sucks, here's the cartoons that I do like in the 2000s:

Robot JonesGrim and Evil (well before it was renamed The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Evil Con Carne)Codename Kids Next Door (season 1 episodes)Invader ZIMFairly OddparentsSpongebobDanny PhantomJimmy NeutronTeen TitansKirby: Right Back at yaSonic XF-zero: GP LegendFamily GuyFuturamaFoster's Home for Imaginary Friends

What most people forget when they write a "everything now sucks" column is that even in their own personal little golden age of televison/movies/ etc that they were discerning. There was stuff of the time that wasn't to their liking. For instance you cite Transformers/Gobots as good shows of your youth, Most people I know are either/or on this pair of shows (mostly the former.) As I have aged, I have become even more critical of whether something is worth my time. When you were a kid, time is a cheap commodity days never seem to end. When you are older you have less time and become more critical. Things you might have watched as "ok" are no longer palatable.

It's all a matter of opinion. I'm sure some kids today think the stuff we watched and enjoyed when we were younger would suck in today's world. I was a huge fan of GI Joe, Robotech, Transformers, Bugs Bunny, and more, but there were also ones that I didn't care as much about like Dennis the Menace or Heathcliff. In my opinion there are some episodes of Spongebob that I like as well as the series The Fairly Oddparents. I wish the Oddparents were around when I was a kid, although I probably wouldn't get all the small references that they use.

Everything new doesn't suck.It seems to me that everything does come around again.Fashion,Movies and yes even cartoons.Remember a time when bellbottoms were cool and then they weren't and then they were again.I personally like the way things have turned again.Anime was in our minds with shows like Speed Racer,Battle of the Planets and Voltron,and I like some of the "anime" revamped stuff.G.I.Joe got a nice anime facelift among countless others.Either you like animation or you don't.Some people will hate on me,but I don't care.Being some what of an artist,I like animation.If it is done with some wit and some style why hate.Anime style is the new niche when it comes to animation.You can surely see it when it comes to new cartoons.Some really good stuff is coming from Japaneese influence.Just a thought...any one....

I guess it's similar to when a ROM hacker makes a new game out of an old one, or when you see today's Game Boy Advance games that run like SNES & SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games of past times. In other words: NICE!

Saw an episode of Totally spies, wish I could have seen more. JLU--forever!!!!! Kim Possible, well, can't say I liked it or hated it. I only saw a couple of episodes. I missed the boat on that one. Oh, and did I say JLU forever? If any of you are intrerested, I'm currently writing and posting a JLU fanfic at this site: http://www.jlaunlimited.com/eFiction1.1/viewstory.php?sid=4157 If the link doesn't work, just go to the home site: http://www.jlaunlimited.com/eFiction1.1/index.php and look for stories by KNITES. Enjoy.

JLU rocks! I don't like the others in your list so well, but my daughter likes the Kim Possible eps. I too stopped watching TV in the 90's and just d/l what I wanna watch now. Avatar the last airbender seems to be my daughter's fav right now. I just can't get into it.

Totally with you! That's the problem with some of the junkies - they won't give a try. God, I'm glad I live in Poland - all those 80s cartoons are early 90s to me and some of them are still aring, but now we have the modern ones as well. So it all mixes.The ones that I may suggest: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Times and Tales of Juniper Lee, The Emperor's New School, new TMNT, Samurai Jack, Teen Titans and Oban Star Racers (my bro's totally in it; I've seen only a couple of episodes, but Japanese-French collaborations can't be not fantastic).

I can't even sit through any shows today. Megas XLR was the only one I've seen on that list. I could care less for Danny Phantom, Totally Spies and Kim Possible. In fact, I stopped watching TV on a regular basis starting in the 90s so I don't know about most cartoons from this era nor the 90s. I miss the late 70s/80s TV.

Danny Phantom is an ALRIGHT cartoon. Probably my least favorite out of Spongebob, the Fairly Oddparents, Jimmy Neutron, and itself. Kim Possible and Totally Spies I tried to watch but couldn't sit through, and to be honest I never gave the other two a chance. I'm a Marvel fanboy at heart, and with the exception of Batman and Vertigo/Wildstorm Comics, I just don't think that DC has much going for it.

Kim PossibleDid see the episode with a Japanese exchange student? Remember how he fights a bully by jumping around and trying to make himself look totally enlightened? It looks totally phony.

Totally SpiesThis show has the same ability Inspector Gadget had. The ability to make interesting plots boring.

Justice League UnlimitedA veritable step down from cartoons of old. While cartoons of the 80's had forced morals at the end of each episode, this cartoon puts some kind of forced moral throughout the entire show. So the cartoon has the hastily written dialogue of the 80's and pseudo intellectualism for the 00's. Everything about this show is designed to raise your tolerance for weakly produced TV. Don't watch it.

Note that none have a forced in 10 years old kid so kids can relate.The recent cartoons that do get on my nerve suffer from the syndrome of "Forced 10 years old kid" syndrome.The forced 10 years old kid almost always have a pet/partner that can save the world, and is also 99% of the time a boy. Cuz girlz dun watch toons, hur hur.Good shows featuring a kid/kids?Avatar and Teen Titans.Sonic X would be good if it weren't for Chris, the resident F10YOK.

I never understood why the writers for Justice League Unlimited never wrote any of the live action movies

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